Improvement in comb-frames for bee-hives



, W. KENYON.

improvement in Constructing Honey Comb Frames for Bee Hives.

No.123,483. Patented Feb. 6,1872.

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WILEY KENYON, OF ORAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMB-FRAMES FOR BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 123,483, dated February 6, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

I, WILEY KENYON, of Grawfordsville, in the county of Montgomery and State of lndiana, have invented certain Improvements in the Manner of Constructing; Honey-Comb Frames for BeeHives, of which the following is a specification:

The nature and object of my invention is to enable the manufacturer of bee-hives to construct the frame upon which the honey-comb is formed out of very light thin material, and at the same time to make it strong and durable without the necessity of using nails (which are liable to split the thin pieces of wood out of which it is intended my frame-should be constructed) in its construction; and this object is accomplished by placing both the top and bottom slats used in the construction of the frame in such a position that the plane of each will be vertical when the frame is completed and placed in the hive, and, by joining said top and bottom slats to the upright end slats (and middle slats if a double frame is desired) by means of an open mortise and tenon, thus forming a shoulder and stanch brace at each corner of the frame. By placing the top slat so that its plane will be vertical, as before specified, additional strength will be imparted by it, as well as a perfect guide afi'orded to the bees in forming their comb upon it.

Description of Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is a side view of the frame embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is aside view of one of the end slats (and the end and middle slats are precisely alike) of the frame marked A in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the top or bottom slats (and they are alike) marked B in Fig. 1.

When it is designed to suspend the frame in the hive, a cap, as shown by 0 c in Fig. 1, with its ends projecting, may be nailed on the top of the frame.

General Description 0r Directions for Making the Frame.

To make the frame embodied in my invention, take aplank of any suitable wood, of any length, from one to one and a quarter inches in thickness and from eight to twelve inches in width, saw it into proper lengths for the top and bottom slats, which are to be of equal length with each other, and the end and middle slats, which are also to be of equal length with each other; then with a saw cut a groove in the middle of the end and breadthwise of the board out of which the end and middle slats are to be made, which groove will form the open mortises. When the board is ripped into slats, said groove must be out from oneeighth to one-quarter of an inch wide and to a depth equal to one-half the whole thickness of the board; then saw a corner breadthwise out of each end of the board out of which the top and bottom slats are to be made, which will form the tenon, shoulder, and brace. When the board is ripped into slats, said corner sawed out must be from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch wide and of a depth equal to one-half the thickness of the board then rip the boards into slat-s from oneeighth to one-quarter of an inch in thickness, and the frames are then ready to be put together for use. It is not designed that the slats should be planed or dressed, but used just as left by the saw.

The frames can be made altogether by machinery at any planing-mill or sash-factory, and can, consequently, be manufactured with great rapidity.

Claim.

I claim as my invention The herein-described comb-frame, made of thin strips or veneers of Wood, united together and disposed, in relation to one another, in the manner and for the purposes specified.

W. KENYON.

Witnesses:

W. T. BRUSH, O. M. GREGG. 

